"My party, the Socialist Party (SP), has opposed in both Houses the ratification of the Treaty. It now will campaign for a 'No' vote. Main argument is that this Treaty, under the actual circumstances, will work out bad for the citizens of Ukraine, bad for the citizens of the Netherlands and bad for European cooperation based on the protection of peace and prosperity throughout the continent," Tiny Kox said.
Kox said that the Dutch government will campaign for a "Yes" vote even though opinion polls show that the "No" camp is currently in the lead.
The referendum has been scheduled for April 6, 2016, after over 450,000 citizens signed a petition calling for a vote on the issue. A turnout of 30 percent is required on the day for the referendum result to be considered by the government.
"It seems that most parties in Parliament will advise the Government to follow the result of the referendum. In case of a 'No' vote, the Netherlands will not ratify the Treaty which then cannot come into force in its actual form as it needs the support of all 28 EU member states and Ukraine," Kox said.
The Netherlands is the only EU country, which has not yet ratified the Ukraine-EU association deal.
